Huskers not sharp; Bo is bluntBY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
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• Bo predicts: 'It'll be a fun time'
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LINCOLN — The first day of Bo Pelini's first game week at Nebraska didn't go quite as the first-year football coach had hoped.
Pelini was abrupt with the news media after the Huskers, as fall semester classes opened at NU, restarted preparations for Saturday's 6 p.m. opener at Memorial Stadium against Western Michigan.
The coach used all of two minutes to burn through 15 questions after Nebraska's two-hour workout on the grass outside of the Hawks Center.
"It was average at best," he said of the practice. "We've got a lot of work to do. We didn't play well enough. We didn't coach well enough.
"We didn't compete. It wasn't good enough."
Senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, in line to land a Blackshirt for the first time, said he believes that the defenders still must earn their prized practice jerseys.OK, but are the Huskers ready to play a game?
"I'm not worried about the game," Pelini said. "I'm worried about the next day of practice."
When can we expect a depth chart?
"You'll get that when we get it to you," he said.
Any plan to hand out Blackshirts?
"No."
You get the picture.
Pelini said he's looking for "perfection." Clearly, Monday fell well short of his standard. The coach made a point to not criticize his players' effort at practice.
Their focus and attention to detail, though, according to several Huskers, needed improvement.
"The coaches know that we started school today and that we have a bunch of different distractions," nose tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "But the main thing is that we're five days away from a game. We've got to maintain and be focused."
Monday marked the Huskers' heaviest work yet against the scout team. According to strong safety Larry Asante, it disrupted the tempo. Mistakes followed.
Still, it's no excuse, said the senior.
"There were a lot of missed assignments," Asante said. "At times, we didn't get the right keys as a defense."
Suh seconded Asante's assessment.
"Things needed to be sharpened," Suh said. "It was just little things that need to be tightened up. You have to understand what you need to do to get it done, go out and execute it and get off the field."
Offensively, senior receiver Todd Peterson said, the tempo must improve.
"Getting in and out of the huddle faster, being more physical," Peterson said. "I missed a couple blocks today that probably would have got teammates blown up, and that's just unacceptable. We need to come out and have our heads screwed on straight."
As for the absence of Blackshirts, traditionally delivered in this week before the opener to the starting defense, it's a non-issue with the Huskers.
Senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, in line to land a Blackshirt for the first time, said he believes that the defenders still must earn their prized practice jerseys.
"It's something that we can't just be given," Wortman said. "We really have to deserve them."
Practices like this one, the Huskers said, illustrate that the Blackshirts aren't ready to stand separate from their teammates.
"I think (Pelini) is making a statement about what the jerseys mean," Asante said. "The Blackshirt is not just a practice jersey. It's a mentality that the starting 11 have to take on. You have to perform out there.
"We're not worried about it. All we're worried about is Western Michigan."
• Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com